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King Louis XIV

At 28 years old, King Louis XIV of France is in sole command of his kingdom, following the death of his mother, Anne of Austria.

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Louis is a spirited and seductive man, an extraordinary strategist and an utterly ruthless statesman.

He is haunted by childhood memories of a bitter coup, ‘the Fronde’, when the nobles attempted to overthrow his father, Louis XIII.

Louis has a dream, an obsession: to build the most beautiful palace in all of Europe – Versailles. Symbolising all the splendor and glory of France, it is a place where he will be safe at last. The nobles crave entry to this lavish château, but its purpose is to imprison and control them.

Versailles sees Louis XIV grow from a young King into an all-powerful absolute monarch.